ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Injuries in Australian cricket at first class level 1995/1996 to 2000/2001

J Orchard¹, T James², E Alcott², S Carter³ and P Farhart²

¹ University of Melbourne, Australia
² Australian Cricket Board
³ Queensland Cricket Association

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr Orchard, South Sydney Sports Medicine, 111 Anzac Parade, Kensington, NSW 2033, Australia;
johnorchard{at}msn.com.au; www.johnorchard.com

Accepted 11 April 2002

Objective: To describe and analyse injuries and illness occurring in Australian cricket at first class level.

Methods: Injuries occurring to the state and national teams were surveyed prospectively between the seasons 1998/1999 and 2000/2001, and the three preceding seasons were surveyed retrospectively. The definition of an injury was detailed and generally required the player to miss playing time in a major match.

Results: Average injury match incidence in the seasons studied prospectively varied from a low of 19.0 injuries per 10 000 player hours in first class domestic matches to a high of 38.5 injuries per 10 000 player hours in one day internationals. The average seasonal incidence was 19.2 injuries per squad (25 players) per season (20 matches). Injury prevalence (the percentage of players missing through injury at any given time) was 14% for pace bowlers, 4% for spin bowlers, 4% for batsmen, and 2% for wicket keepers. The most common injuries were hamstring strains, side strains, groin injuries, wrist and hand injuries, and lumbar soft tissue injuries. Bowlers who had bowled more than 20 match overs in the week leading up to a match had an increased risk of sustaining a bowling injury (risk ratio 1.91, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.28 to 2.85). A further risk for bowling injury is bowling second in a match—that is, batting first (risk ratio 1.62, 95% CI 1.04 to 2.50). A risk factor for injury in fielding is colliding with the boundary fence.

Conclusions: Further study is required to determine ways to minimise the risk of injury in fast bowlers. Cricket grounds should mark a boundary line on the playing field to prevent players colliding with fences in the field.

Keywords: cricket; injury; epidemiology; risk factors

---

 

Commentary

D Newman⁴

⁴ Performance Department, England & Wales Cricket Board, Lords Cricket Ground, London NW8 8QZ, UK; iso{at}hantscare.softnet.co.uk

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Hammond, L E, Lilley, J, Ribbans, W J (2009). Coding sports injury surveillance data: has version 10 of the Orchard Sports Injury Classification System improved the classification of sports medicine diagnoses?. Br. J. Sports. Med. 43: 498-502 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Orchard, J. W., James, T., Portus, M., Kountouris, A., Dennis, R. (2009). Fast Bowlers in Cricket Demonstrate Up to 3- to 4-Week Delay Between High Workloads and Increased Risk of Injury. Am J Sports Med 37: 1186-1192 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Gupta, R K, Singh, D, Kansay, R, Singh, H (2008). Cricket ball injury: a cause of symptomatic muscle hernia of the leg. Br. J. Sports. Med. 42: 1002-1003 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Shaw, L, Finch, C F (2008). Injuries to junior club cricketers: the effect of helmet regulations. Br. J. Sports. Med. 42: 437-440 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Dennis, R J, Finch, C F, McIntosh, A S, Elliott, B C (2008). Use of field-based tests to identify risk factors for injury to fast bowlers in cricket. Br. J. Sports. Med. 42: 477-482 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Dallalana, R. J., Brooks, J. H. M., Kemp, S. P. T., Williams, A. M. (2007). The Epidemiology of Knee Injuries in English Professional Rugby Union. Am J Sports Med 35: 818-830 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Brooks, J. H. M., Fuller, C. W., Kemp, S. P. T., Reddin, D. B. (2006). Incidence, Risk, and Prevention of Hamstring Muscle Injuries in Professional Rugby Union. Am J Sports Med 34: 1297-1306 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Mansingh, A, Harper, L, Headley, S, King-Mowatt, J, Mansingh, G, Stretch, R, Gregory, P L (2006). Injuries in West Indies cricket 2003-2004 * Commentary 1 * Commentary 2. Br. J. Sports. Med. 40: 119-123 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Rae, K, Britt, H, Orchard, J, Finch, C (2005). Classifying sports medicine diagnoses: a comparison of the International classification of diseases 10-Australian modification (ICD-10-AM) and the Orchard sports injury classification system (OSICS-8). Br. J. Sports. Med. 39: 907-911 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Dennis, R J, Finch, C F, Farhart, P J, James, T., Stretch, R A (2005). Is bowling workload a risk factor for injury to Australian junior cricket fast bowlers? * Commentary * Commentary. Br. J. Sports. Med. 39: 843-846 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Brooks, J H M, Fuller, C W, Kemp, S P T, Reddin, D B (2005). Epidemiology of injuries in English professional rugby union: part 1 match injuries. Br. J. Sports. Med. 39: 757-766 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Ranson, C. A., Kerslake, R. W., Burnett, A. F., Batt, M. E., Abdi, S. (2005). Magnetic resonance imaging of the lumbar spine in asymptomatic professional fast bowlers in cricket. J Bone Joint Surg Br 87-B: 1111-1116 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• McIntosh, A S, McCrory, P (2005). Preventing head and neck injury. Br. J. Sports. Med. 39: 314-318 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Orchard, J W, Newman, D, Stretch, R, Frost, W, Mansingh, A, Leipus, A (2005). Methods for injury surveillance in international cricket. Br. J. Sports. Med. 39: e22-e22 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Humphries, D, Jamison, M (2004). Clinical and magnetic resonance imaging features of cricket bowler's side strain. Br. J. Sports. Med. 38: e21-e21 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Drescher, W R, Falliner, A, Zantop, T, Oehlert, K, Petersen, W, Hassenpflug, J (2004). Little league shoulder syndrome in an adolescent cricket player. Br. J. Sports. Med. 38: e14-e14 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Stretch, R A, Orchard, J (2003). Cricket injuries: a longitudinal study of the nature of injuries to South African cricketers * Commentary. Br. J. Sports. Med. 37: 250-253 [Abstract] [Full Text]